Industrial Specialists, a BrandSafway company and member of the American Welding Society, recently introduced Quik-X as a refractory anchoring system designed specifically for use in fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCUs), cyclones, and air grids.

“We are committed to developing innovative solutions that increase productivity and quality for our clients,” said Dave Witsken, president of BrandSafway’s energy and industrial division. “The Quik-X anchor enables nearly a 50 percent reduction in the number of welds per square foot without sacrificing quality. This can generate significant cost and outage cycle time benefits.” 

Better Anchoring Efficiency

According to the manufacturer, the product boosts efficiency by almost 50 percent. Quik-X, an alternative to traditional “hex mesh,” is a half-hexagon-shaped, castable anchor grid. It can be manufactured with many alloy types, ranging from carbon steel to exotic stainless steels.

It is designed primarily for use in FCCUs, which can withstand the high temperatures used to crack petroleum crude oils into more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products.

Quik-X reinforces refractories against cracking and falling, which protects the integrity of the structure and allows it to be used with metal inert gas (MIG), tungsten inert gas (TIG), or stick welding. It is specially designed to be used with the company’s BrandTech precision welding system.

“We modeled Quik-X after anchoring systems that have been used for the past 50 years to keep the design similar to what our customers are familiar with and make it easy to use,” said Eduardo Almeida, director of innovation, research, and development (R&D) for Industrial Specialists. “In addition, Quik-X works with existing welding technologies as well as new technologies like BrandTech.”

Less Metal, Superior Grip

BrandSafway added that Quik-X has been shown to reduce metal volume by 6.29 percent per square foot in refractory linings when compared to other single-cell anchors. According to the company, when using less metal in a refractory lining, the abrasive properties of the lining become more efficient.

The system also offers a minimum 7.17 percent surface area increase per square foot, which enables a superior anchoring grip.

Design and utility patents for the Quik-X system are pending.